A colonoscopy is an examination of the large intestine or colon through the use of a colonoscope. A colonoscope is a flexible, tube-like inspection device having a camera at its end. Colonoscopies are performed for a variety of medical reasons including detection of inflamed tissue, ulcers, abnormal growths or polyps, and colorectal cancer. Colonoscopy as a screening tool to detect colorectal cancer has increased significantly since 2000.
During a colonoscopy, a colonoscope is inserted into a patient's rectum and then advanced to the beginning of the colon (an area known as the cecum) in order to examine the lining of the large intestine. The efficiency and accuracy of this procedure is largely dependent on the ease with which the colonoscope can be advanced. During the procedure, the colon may become over-distended or flopped in unnatural directions creating loops that hinder the advancement of the colonoscope and resulting in patient discomfort, longer examination times, and potentially inaccurate or incomplete screenings.
Currently, the difficulty in advancing the scope has been addressed by utilizing a surgical technician to manually support the patient's colon with pressure. This is time-consuming and dependent on the particular surgical assistant's strength, technique, and endurance, as well as training. Another way to apply differential pressure, particularly in larger patients, is to roll the patient from the left side to a supine or to a prone position. Often this is not an easy task with a sedated patient.
Devices and methods for addressing this problem are known in prior art. For example, the Klingstein U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,321 discloses a method and apparatus for applying external compression to the colon through the use of a corset-like wrap containing a pneumatic, inflatable bladder. The device is wrapped around the patient's abdomen and the bladder, once inflated, applies force to the patient's colon, particularly to the sigmoid colon, in order to facilitate the procedure.
The Rindfleish U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,311 discloses a vest including multiple pneumatic bladders that are selectively inflated by the doctor performing the colonoscopy in order to apply pressure to specific areas of the patient's abdomen.
The Arber U.S. patent application publication No. US 2011/0087263 A1 discloses an abdominal wrap including multiple pneumatic bladders and a counter pressure plate in order to provide downward pressure to a patient's large intestines when the device is inflated.
While the prior devices operate satisfactorily, they require the use of a pneumatic mechanism to apply force to the patient's abdomen. The present invention was developed in order to overcome this and other drawbacks of the prior devices by providing a device in which force and support are generated by tension created when the device is secured around the patient's abdomen. The pressure applied to the patient is the result of the tensile properties of the device and of the material of which the device is composed. Furthermore, the present invention is distinguished from the prior art in that its design purposefully allows a surgical technician to apply additional pressure by manually compressing the abdomen while the device applies simultaneous pressure.